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‘Westworld’

Are you keeping up with Westworld because it’s an amazing show, or because you’re engrossed in the world they’ve built? During Season 2, it was hard to say. They would produce brilliant episodes like “The Riddle of the Sphinx,” which was close to high art in its repetition. On the flipside, they follow that up with episodes like “Akane no Mai,” which gave us the “Samuraiworld” we were hoping for, but with a storyline that definitely felt like it was phoned in. It was a constant struggle, with brilliance (including the performances of Jeffrey Wright and Thandie Newton) wrestling with tedious time-wasters that tested the patience of even the most dedicated viewers.

Still, Westworld isn’t afraid to present a universe, then destroy it in one fell swoop, which is more than most shows do. The question is, similar to the hosts in the park, how long can they sustain this? —khal